ABS: Increasing use of the internet and home computers (Media Release)

MEDIA RELEASE

August 25, 2000

Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)

114/2000

ABS: Increasing use of the internet and home computers

Over half of all Australian households (54 per cent or 3.8 million households) had a home computer and one third (2.3 million households) had home Internet access by May 2000, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimates.

This compares to May 1999 data where 47 per cent of Australian households (3.2 million) had access to a home computer while 22 per cent (1.5 million) had home Internet access. The increase in the number of households with home Internet access (800,000 households) was much higher than the increase in the number of households with home computers (579,000) over the 12 months to May 2000.

When the characteristics of households are analysed some interesting trends in terms of computer and Internet access occur. For example:

Households with incomes of $50,000 or more were twice as likely to have access to a home computer and three times as likely to have Internet access at home, compared to those households with incomes of less than $50,000.

Households with children under 18 years were nearly twice as likely to have either computer or Internet access at home, compared to households without children under 18 years at home.

Households in metropolitan areas were still more likely to have home computers than households outside the metropolitan areas (56 per cent versus 51 per cent). The situation was similar for Internet access, at 37 per cent versus 26 per cent.

An estimated 6.4 million adults (46 per cent of Australia's adult population) accessed the Internet in the 12 months to May 2000 compared with 5.5 million adults (40 per cent) in the 12 months to May 1999.

Almost 6 per cent of Australian adults (802,000) used the Internet to purchase or order goods or services for their own private use in the 12 months to May 2000. This is a rise from the 5 per cent of adults (650,000) who did likewise in the equivalent period to May 1999. Books or magazines, computer software and music remain the most common types of goods or services purchased for private use during the 12 months to May 2000 (36 per cent,18 per cent and 18 per cent respectively).

Details are in Use of the Internet by Householders, Australia, May 2000 (cat. no. 8147.0) which is available from ABS Bookshops. The main features of the publication are available on this site. If you wish to purchase a copy of this publication, contact the ABS bookshopin your capital city.

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